Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C.- An agreement reached by House and Senate negotiators that would give federal employees a 4.8 percent pay raise in January 2000, is being hailed as a victory by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents some 155,000 federal employees in 21 agencies and departments.

"This is the biggest pay increase federal employees have received since 1981," said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. "It was one of our priority legislative issues this year and I am extremely pleased to see that our grassroots efforts paid off. I think Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who were instrumental in securing this raise, should be commended for their support of the federal workforce. But NTEU will not stop fighting until the pay gap is completely eliminated and federal employees are paid what they were promised in the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act."

The 4.8 percent salary boost was not the only provision of the Treasury appropriations agreement hailed by NTEU. A second legislative priority for the union this year was child care subsidies, which also were addressed in the measure.

Specifically, the agreement contains language from Rep. Connie Morella's (R-Md.) bill that would allow agencies to use their funds to subsidize child care expenses for lower graded federal employees. The House and Senate negotiators also restored a $135 million cut in IRS funding that had been contained in the House version of the bill.

Kelley said, referring to the additional 1.5 percent pay increase that might be given to the military in July 2000.

The bottom line, however, is that NTEU wants Congress and the administration to recommit to raising federal pay to a level that makes government salaries competitive with the private sector. That goal, which was established in the early 1990s under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA), was derailed by the budget deficit.

"We know it would be difficult for Congress to support a 16 percent or 20 percent pay increase, which is what would be needed to realign federal pay with the FEPCA standards," said Kelley. "But we don't think it is unrealistic for Congress and the administration to start taking action now-now that the budget deficit has been eliminated-to close the gap and create a competitive environment in which the nation's best and brightest will be drawn to public service."

President Clinton is expected to sign the Treasury appropriations measure.